Prepared in 1776, the constitution of New Hampshire is the nation's first written state constitution. The 1776 constitution was a brief 15 sentences, but it laid out a form of government dedicated to popular control and limited government powers that have remained a central theme of New Hampshire constitutional law to this day. The detail of the framing of the original state constitution --the first in the nation- provides a context for understanding and appreciating the traditions which has marked the state's political and constitutional history, even after 144 amendments and over 200 years. The New Hampshire State Constitution includes the full text of each article of the constitution and an analysis of each article's development. Susan E. Marshall includes a description of amendments to the text and references to cases decided by the New Hampshire Supreme Court. She offers a historical overview of the development and application of the New Hampshire constitution and provides a general constitutional history and an article-by-article commentary, including a discussion of important cases. Also included are a bibliographical essay, table of cases, tables relating to constitutional conventions and amendments, and a general index, offering significant sources for further study. Previously published by Greenwood, this title has been brought back in to circulation by Oxford University Press with new verve. Re-printed with standardization of content organization in order to facilitate research across the series, this title, as with all titles in the series, is set to join the dynamic revision cycle of The Oxford Commentaries on the State Constitutions of the United States The Oxford Commentaries on the State Constitutions of the United States is an important series that reflects a renewed international interest in constitutional history and provides expert insight into each of the 50 state constitutions. Each volume in this innovative series contains a historical overview of the state's constitutional development, a section-by-section analysis of its current constitution, and a comprehensive guide to further research. Under the expert editorship of Professor G. Alan Tarr, Director of the Center on State Constitutional Studies at Rutgers University, this series provides essential reference tools for understanding state constitutional law. Books in the series can be purchased individually or as part of a complete set, giving readers unmatched access to these important political documents.

Taxation in Colonial America examines life in the thirteen original American colonies through the revealing lens of the taxes levied on and by the colonists. Spanning the turbulent years from the founding of the Jamestown settlement to the outbreak of the American Revolution, Alvin Rabushka provides the definitive history of taxation in the colonial era, and sets it against the backdrop of enormous economic, political, and social upheaval in the colonies and Europe. Rabushka shows how the colonists strove to minimize, avoid, and evade British and local taxation, and how they used tax incentives to foster settlement. He describes the systems of public finance they created to reduce taxation, and reveals how they gained control over taxes through elected representatives in colonial legislatures. Rabushka takes a comprehensive look at the external taxes imposed on the colonists by Britain, the Netherlands, and Sweden, as well as internal direct taxes like poll and income taxes. He examines indirect taxes like duties and tonnage fees, as well as county and town taxes, church and education taxes, bounties, and other charges. He links the types and amounts of taxes with the means of payment--be it gold coins, agricultural commodities, wampum, or furs--and he compares tax systems and burdens among the colonies and with Britain. This book brings the colonial period to life in all its rich complexity, and shows how colonial attitudes toward taxation offer a unique window into the causes of the revolution.